Sensor-Embedded Automatic Grasping Forceps for Precise Corneal Suture in Penetrating Keratoplasty

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Robotics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate corneal suture placement is critical for successful penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) and vision restoration.
• Surgeons face challenges in achieving precise suture depth due to corneal tissue softness, lack of depth feedback, and hand tremors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an automatic cornea grasping device designed to enhance the accuracy and precision of corneal suture depth during PKP.
• To mitigate surgical errors caused by human hand tremors and limitations in depth perception.

Main Methods:

• An automatic cornea grasping device was designed, incorporating a sensor to detect target suture depth and an actuator for rapid grasping.
• The performance of the sensor, actuator, and overall device was experimentally validated using ex vivo corneal tissue.

Main Results:

• The proposed device demonstrated the ability to detect the target suture depth accurately.
• Rapid grasping by the device effectively prevented errors associated with surgeon hand tremors.
• Experimental results confirmed enhanced accuracy and precision in corneal suture depth control.

Conclusions:

• The automatic cornea grasping device shows significant potential for improving surgical precision in penetrating keratoplasty.
• This technology can help overcome key challenges in corneal suturing, leading to improved patient outcomes in vision restoration surgery.